Just lost my Hardcore Alchemist to a phase portal (He was only lv 5

) soo had to start again, this time using a Vanquisher, who's on V Hard, like the Alchy, just not Hardcore.
Having fun with it so far, found that a good combo for the Alchemist is a Pistol and a 1-H Weapon, gives him a ranged attack and a good defense for if the enemy gets too close. Only problem with all dungeon crawlers with mouse movement is that they require you to click on the foes to attack, and with a Laptop pad that ain't too easy, which makes me glad that you can shift + mouse to attack on the spot, which helps loads.
Still bitter about my Alchemist though

Stupid skeletons...